Taking Care
by ripnik
Summary: Frodo and Sam have a slight mishap--Frodo learns the value of friendship


Title: Taking Care  
Author: ripleynikki  
Characters: Frodo, Sam   
Slash: No/implied I guess. Maybe.  
Rating: PG   
Summary: Frodo and Sam have a slight mishap; Frodo begins to   
understand a thing or two.  
  
Disclaimer: JRR Tolkien created these wonderful characters and I   
love them with all my heart. But that's all, really. I make no money from this. All mistakes are mine.  
  
  
Taking Care  
  
"Take care, Sam!" Frodo's hissed words echoed off the ragged and   
loose volcanic rock of the ravine as he peered down the cliff. Sam   
had tied the elven rope to a nearby boulder in order to scale the   
distance to the bottom of the ravine. Gollum had sworn on the   
Precious that this was the last barrier in Emyn Muil before the dead   
marshes. He had then quickly scuttled down the cliff and gully,   
saying he would scout the paths ahead and come back before dawn,   
leaving the two of them to make it on their own with the aid of "that   
nassty, cruel Elf rope". Sam had muttered darkly at Gollum's   
announcement and chose to descend first, after lowering the packs to   
the ground below. This cliff really wasn't that high, thought Frodo-  
at least it didn't seem as high as that awful first one, but it was   
still plenty high enough.   
  
His fear of heights came back full force, creating a knot in his   
belly and taking his breath away. He had never liked heights much and   
when younger, would sometimes freeze in place while climbing trees   
with the other hobbit children. He never understood why that   
happened: his muscles would simply lock up, unpredictably, stranding   
him clutching the tree branches in a death grip, much to his chagrin   
and the amusement of the other hobbits who had no such handicap. It   
had not happened to him in years and he had almost forgotten about   
it, but after the fright he had taken during the last disastrous   
cliff climbing session, combined with that dramatic storm and horrid   
Nazgul rider, his fear had resurfaced. He did his best to control   
himself and continued to watch Sam descend.  
  
It also didn't help his nerves that Sam did not appear to be taking   
as much care as Frodo felt this precipice deserved. Sam had looped   
the rope around his waist and between his legs in a complicated way   
that let him rappel smoothly down the jagged rock face. Frodo   
watched with trepidation, but also admiration as Sam worked his way   
down the cliff. Sam was exceedingly sturdy and clever. Others   
thought him simple and dull, but one thing this journey had taught   
Frodo, was that Sam was much, much more than that. "Still waters run   
deep" was an old saying that applied to his dearest friend, Samwise   
Gamgee.   
  
And when had "dearest friend" replaced "friend"? Frodo sat back from   
the edge and took a fond moment to wonder at that. He couldn't   
rightly recall and was it really that important? He decided to set   
the thought aside to bring out later to examine more thoroughly.   
This was not the time or place for woolgathering--not that he could   
do much of anything but worry right now.   
  
He looked up at the night sky. The moon was waning-it would be dawn   
soon. It had taken much cajoling and argument to convince Gollum that   
walking at night with no moon was much too dangerous on this uneven   
volcanic terrain. He had only reluctantly agreed to limited travel   
under the white face when Sam finally threatened him with Sting.   
Gollum had stuck to the shadows and skulked along until they arrived   
at this cliff, muttering and hissing under his breath all the way.  
  
"Don't you worry none, Mr. Frodo, I'm doin' just fine." Frodo was   
brought out of his musings as Sam spoke. He carefully peeked over   
the edge again to see how far Sam had progressed-he didn't have too   
much further to go, maybe another dozen feet.   
  
Suddenly Sam lurched sickeningly downwards with a cry. The rope was   
slipping! How could that be? It was an Elven rope! Frodo lunged   
desperately for the quickly disappearing length, horrified as he   
realized what was happening. Heart in his throat, he managed to   
catch the rope in his left hand just as it slipped by, not thinking   
about how close he was to the edge or Sam's considerable hobbit-   
weight. The rope twisted around his left wrist as if it were a live   
thing. Sam's plunge was halted momentarily as he twisted in the air   
and hit the rock wall with a loud "Oof!" Sharp pain shot up Frodo's   
shoulder as it was nearly wrenched out of the socket by the heavy   
weight of the sturdy hobbit. Pulled forward, he scraped his hands   
and fingers on the rocky ground as he was dragged toward the edge.   
Just in time the rope ripped away, causing painful friction burns.   
Sam didn't utter another sound as he hit the ground.   
  
"SAM!" The frantic cry echoed and boomed through the ravine and back   
at Frodo, confusing him. He hardly felt the pain of the shoulder and   
hands as, realizing his precarious position, he pushed back away from   
the edge of the cliff. Frodo panted in terror but immediately   
reversed course and scrabbled forward on his belly to look over   
again. He could barely see-- Sam had landed on his back, but the   
shape of the rock formation hid his head and shoulders. A very limp   
left arm was visible, tangled up with the rope. "Sam!? Are you all   
right? Say something, talk to me, please!!" There was no answer.   
The only sound was the soft sighing of the wind as it rushed through   
the rocks and hills. "Gollum! Where is he?" Frodo's' thoughts raced   
frenetically. He was already down there somewhere! Maybe he would   
help by throwing the rope back up so Frodo could get down. But there   
was no sign of him anywhere. Frodo was afraid to call out again for   
fear the echoes might bring something even worse than Gollum. He   
realized suddenly that, even if he were present, the creature would   
not touch the rope let alone toss it up to him.  
  
Despair hit him. Frodo began to tremble with reaction and   
adrenalin. His mind seemed to go blank-what was he to do? "I must   
get to Sam-he could be hurt badly-even dead--and then what would I   
do? How can I possibly go on without him?"   
  
His stomach clenched with dread and he felt sick. The fears and   
doubts created by his burden and the uncertain fate of Middle Earth   
suddenly seemed small and insignificant compared to his concern for   
the life of this one small, simple hobbit, his friend. He had to get   
to Sam. "I will do it. I have to get down this cliff face somehow."  
  
Quickly as he could, he looked for hand and toe holds. Thankfully   
there were plenty still visible in the fading moonlight. He hitched   
over the edge, feeling for the toeholds, finding them. He looked   
down for more. A sharp stab of fear pulsed through his   
body. "Breathe," he thought. "Don't be an ass. Sam needs you. Keep   
going."   
  
He found more holds and began to descend. The rock wall bulged   
outward about halfway down-he needed to work his way around. Looking   
down he realized he could now see Sam's face--was that a shadow   
beneath his head-or was it blood? His breath caught in his throat   
and his left arm, wrenched by the rope and already weaker than the   
right from the Morgul blade wound, began to tremble. His peripheral   
vision vanished and all he could see was Sam-lying in what looked   
like a pool of blood. He tried to continue his climb down but   
suddenly his muscles froze-"Oh no!" he wailed to himself. "I can't   
move! Not now!" He closed his eyes and a small whimper escaped his   
lips.   
  
The instant he shut his eyes, a sharp, vivid memory bloomed in   
Frodo's' mind. He was high in Hobbiton's tallest oak tree-higher than   
he had ever climbed before. Frodo had wanted to go to the tree house   
built at the top of the oak. He was relatively new at Bag End and was   
trying hard to fit in with the others. A group of children were   
standing below looking up; others were in the tree house looking   
down. He was blocking everyone from either descending or climbing   
because he had frozen in fear. He couldn't move, no matter how hard   
he tried. The other children mocked and laughed, which made it worse.   
His eyes began to smart with tears of frustration and humiliation.   
Unexpectedly, there was a hand on his shoulder. Young Samwise was on   
the branch behind him. Voice trembling, Frodo managed to   
speak. "Hullo, Sam-lad. I seem to be in a bit of a fix here." Sam   
smiled kindly, talking to him softly and slowly. "Mr. Frodo,   
there 'aint nothin' to be afraid of in this here tree. Which way do   
you want to go, up or down?"   
  
"Up, Sam, I want to see the tree house."   
  
"All right, then, just let go of the branch. Here, that's good, just   
give me your hand. Your Sam will take care of you. One step at a   
time, Mr. Frodo. We'll get there. And then we'll get you back down,   
one step at a time."   
  
Trembling, hanging tight onto the rocks, the answer to his   
woolgathering question occurred to him all at once- Sam had always   
been Frodo's dearest friend. He was only now beginning to understand   
the total depth of that friendship. "What an inconvenient place for   
an epiphany," Frodo thought, "but I'll take what I can get."   
Forcing his eyes open, he took a deep, determined breath.   
Deliberately, one step at a time, Frodo made it down the rest of the   
rock wall to Sam.   
  
Sam was breathing rather heavily when Frodo reached him-his left arm,   
tangled in the rope, rose and flopped toward his face. Almost   
fainting with relief, Frodo quickly grabbed both packs and set them   
to either side of Sam's head to prevent him from moving. He knelt at   
the top of his head and held it steady until Sam's eyes focused. It   
was hard to be sure, but both pupils looked equal. He could see   
there were no unnatural twists to the arms and legs but he would make   
certain later. Sam seemed to be breathing well, just a bit   
raggedly. Probably just knocked the wind out of him, and hopefully   
there were no ribs broken. Frodo had learned something about treating   
injuries from Bilbo and from his readings about Elvish medicine-he   
had always enjoyed those books almost as much as the poetry. Aragorn   
and Elrond had taught him much more and he knew with dread that Sam   
could have injured his spine. He need to make sure before he let him   
move.   
  
Sam took a deep breath as Frodo looked anxiously into his face.   
  
"Hullo, Mr. Frodo. What are you doing? Why are you holding my   
head?" With that, Sam tried to get up.   
  
"No you don't Sam, you stay put! I need to make sure you're not   
hurt."   
  
"Nonsense, Mr. Frodo, I'm fine. Just hit me head, I'll be right as   
rain in a moment." Indeed there was a knot and some blood on the   
left side of Sam's head, just behind the ear, but no blood on the   
ground. Frodo damned his fertile imagination but was grateful it was   
wrong this time. He felt the bruised area gently and it seemed intact   
if a bit swollen. Sam tried again to sit up.   
  
"I mean it, you hold still Samwise Gamgee-if you try to move your   
head again or get up before I tell you, I will pluck each and every   
hair from both feet and all your toes, one by one!" Frodo growled   
fiercely.   
  
Sam's eyes opened wide and his eyebrows arched up in surprise. "Yes   
sir, Mr. Frodo, no disrespect intended sir."   
  
"Fine. Now squeeze my hand-ouch! Not so hard! Now, your other hand.   
Good! Can you move your legs and feet? Wiggle your toes. Does   
your neck hurt when I do this? For pity's sake don't shake your   
head, just say yes or no! Does it hurt to breath? No? Good. Let me   
check your back. How about when I press here? Or here? Well and good,   
everything seems to be fine. You can sit up now but go slowly or I   
will start plucking!"   
  
Frodo helped Sam sit up and made him lean back against his chest,   
ignoring the stiffening and protesting muscles in his left arm and   
shoulder. He rummaged in the packs beside him and pulled out a scrap   
of cloth. Wetting the cloth with cold, clean water, he began to wash   
the clotted blood away from the knot forming at the back of Sam's   
head.   
  
"Well it's a good thing that you only hit your head, Sam, and not   
injured something important," Frodo said crossly. "Still I was rather   
worried that you lost consciousness for so long... How long was it?   
Hmmm." Frodo looked up at the sky, thinking hours must have gone by   
while he wrestled with his fears on the rock face. However, it   
seemed that the moon was in the same position-how could it have been   
only minutes? But it was. He drew a deep breath and relaxed for the   
first time in what seemed like years, tension running out of him like   
water. He felt like crying.   
  
"To tell you the truth, my Gaffer always did say my head was the   
thickest, densest part of me." Sam sounded chagrined and Frodo   
laughed.  
  
"For once, I am extremely glad to not to have to contradict your   
Gaffer." Frodo held the cool cloth to Sam's head and wrapped his   
right arm around Sam's chest to hold him closer. Sam sighed and   
finally spoke up. "Beggin' yer pardon, but what exactly happened and   
how in the world did you get down that cliff?"  
  
Frodo laid his cheek against the top of Sam's head and felt his heart   
clench with remembered terror. He fought it down and tightened his   
arm around Sam's chest. "The rope slipped or broke somehow and you   
fell, Sam. I had to climb down without it."   
  
"Oh. But, I checked that knot at least twice!"   
  
"Then it must have broken, Sam."   
  
Sam picked up the Elven rope and took a look at it in the dimming   
light. The knot tied by Sam was intact. "This part near the knot   
looks strange", he said as he peered closely at it. "The threads look   
like somethin' ate 'em!" Sam handed the rope to Frodo who also   
examined it.   
  
"Well, my word-the rope looks corroded! Hmmm, you know, maybe it's   
where Gollum bit the rope after you tied his ankle!"  
  
"I'll be...you're right, Mr. Frodo. Looks like the Elf rope didn't   
like that sneak Gollum anymore than he liked it! Just dissolved away   
from his spit! Bless me, I never heard of no such thing!"  
  
"I guess we're learning all sorts of new things on this journey, Sam.   
I know I've learned a thing or two..." As his voice trailed off,   
Frodo frowned and thought deeply.  
  
"What do you mean, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked quietly, sounding perplexed.  
  
Frodo raised his head and gazed into the pre-dawn darkness. Gollum   
would be finding a place to hole up out of the daylight soon, if he   
didn't show within the next hour. Frodo took a deep breath and spoke   
softly in response to Sam's question. "I've learned many lessons   
over the last few months and I've been thinking long and hard about   
them. I've faced horrors and dreadful things; the likes of which I   
never imagined could have existed. We've both overcome terrors, pain   
and hardship, incredible loss and grief. We are doing this to save   
all of Middle Earth from a ghastly, dark fate, and our journey is   
only just beginning. I don't know what the future holds for us, but   
I suspect things will not get easier, only more difficult and awful   
as we continue. I realized that I do have a choice about this-and I   
have chosen to go on and learn to face my fears, real and imagined,   
in order to reach my goal. I think this is a lesson everyone must   
learn, regardless of their quests in life."   
  
Frodo was silent for a time, and then smiled wryly. "Bilbo used to   
tell me that you can't choose the family you're born into. I think   
he was referring specifically to Loebelia and Otho, by the way." Sam   
chuckled, knowing full well how Bilbo felt about the infamous   
Sackville-Baggins clan. "But you can certainly choose your friends.   
Choose wisely, he'd say. Tonight I had the most important lesson of   
all. I just discovered in my heart what it is that has helped me face   
these fears and continue on in spite of so much despair. Over the   
course of this journey I have slowly learned, to my surprise, the   
depths of my love for my friends, my chosen family. I have decided   
that I must be sure to tell my friends how much I love and care for   
them when I can and not to put it off, because life can be snatched   
away in a heartbeat. I never told Gandalf how dear he was to me and   
now it's too late. I didn't get the chance to tell Pippin and Merry   
that I love them before I left, or the others how much they meant to   
me. I may never get that chance." He sighed sadly.   
  
"Now I've nearly lost you twice within a few days. This journey may   
be the death of you-maybe the both of us. The guilt of that tears me   
apart sometimes. I'm ashamed that I haven't told you before this how   
very important you are to me, how much I love you. I know for a fact   
that I have often taken you for granted and it shames me even more.   
Your devotion, honesty, courage and determination have carried me   
through so much and I suspect you will continue to care for and   
protect me as long as you have breath in your body. You amaze me. I   
often wonder why you look out for me, serve me, take care of me...and   
what do I do for you? I can't honestly think of a thing." Frodo   
sighed again, bowing his head and resting his cheek in Sam's hair,   
rocking him slightly.   
  
Sam sat quietly listening while Frodo spoke. Only the side of his   
face was visible to Frodo in the dim light. Suddenly he turned in   
Frodo's arms, catching him unaware, and hugged him fiercely around   
the neck.   
  
"You have always given me your respect, love and friendship, Mr.   
Frodo. That's the best, truest thing any person can give another,"   
Sam whispered into Frodo's ear. "You're not the only one who made   
choices. I take care of things and do things for you because I choose   
to. I chose to make a promise never to leave you and to come with   
you. Friends-family-just do things for each other and there's no   
keepin' score, if you follow me. That's what real love is. You   
didn't have to tell me that you love me, I always knew. But it's   
nice to hear, so I'll tell you too. I love you, Mr. Frodo.   
There 'aint no place else I'd rather be than with you."   
  
Frodo held Sam tightly, tears falling silently down his cheeks as he   
pressed his face into Sam's hair and kissed his cheek. The sky was   
beginning to brighten and a knot in his chest that he didn't even   
know was there began to loosen. Frodo's' thoughts had a clarity and   
serenity he had not known for a long time as he thought to   
himself, "Still waters certainly do run deep in this one. I am glad   
you are with me because you give me the strength to go on. Please   
take care Sam. I hope you know I'll do my poor best to take care of   
you, too." 


End file.
